The Princess Of The West
by Elphaba Nightflower
Summary: The story of a girl who changed a world.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or anything mentioned from that show.

Note: Anything up to and past "Red-Handed" is fair game. If you don't like spoilers, don't read.

Prologue: In Which We Meet Our Heroine And Her Sister

Two girls walked through the forest, always close together, gliding like ghosts over the snow. One girl younger and more innocent than her sister; her cloak and dress were a vivid blue and her skin was pale. She had a pale pink rose in her hair. Her sister beside her wore a black cloak and black dress that seemed as dark as the night that was quickly drawing near. Her skin, however, was a pale green.

"Darkness is falling, Nessa. We need to get home, and fast. It is wolfstime, you know," The older sister was saying.

"Can we just please go see if Red is alright? -Please-, Elphie? That last attack was a bad one..." Nessarose pleaded.

Elphaba shook her head. "No." she said. "We're already late for dinner, and mother-" She was stopped short by a loud howl.

Nessa and Elphaba exchanged glances, then the two began walking faster towards their home.

"Do you think it's nearby?" Nessarose asked.

"I certainly hope not," "Elphie" replied, clutching her younger sister's hand. "You've heard the stories. That wolf is a demon from Hell. We'd never be able to escape."

"But you're a witch, Elphie! You'd protect us!" Nessa cried earnestly.

The older girl put a finger to her lips and quickly shushed her. "We don't talk about that, Nessa...you know that." Elphba told her sister.

Another loud howl interrupted their conversation. With another glance exchanged, the two sisters continued walking quickly towards home as night fell all around them. Nessarose lit a lantern and held it in front of them as they continued walking. The pair heard something running and panting heavily behind them, but tried to ignore it. The noises grew closer and closer, and finally, they turned around.

Behind them stood a large, bloodthirsty wolf that was getting closer and closer by the minute. It was as large as a pony, but much more fearsome. The girls could see its sharp teeth glinting in the light of the full moon. Elphaba looked at Nessarose, fear evident in her eyes. Nessarose looked at Elphaba with wide eyes, shivering.

They ran for their lives.

Cloaks billowing out behind them, Nessarose threw the lantern at the wolf. The glass shattered all over its fur, but the wolf continued to chase them, and they continued running. Trees rushed past the Thropp girls as they ran towards the safety of their home, away from the fearsome beast.

Finally, Elphaba yelled to her sister, "It's no use! Climb a tree, quick! The wolf won't be able to catch us there!"

Nessa nodded and veered off the path suddenly, effortlessly climbing a large oak. Elphie followed her and sat beside her on a thick branch high up the tree. The two sisters clutched each other, shivering from both fear and cold with their cloaks clutched tight around them and their hoods up, as the wolf below scratched the tree, trying to reach its prey.

The moon cast an eerie light upon them as they waited for the wolf to leave. Finally, Elphaba had had enough. She leaped to the forest floor, an inhuman beast of shadows.

"Leave us alone," she hissed, her silver eyes glowing with power. Her palms were extended out at the wolf,and the air around them was shifting and warping. The wolf glanced around, growled at her once, and, without breaking eye contact, slowly backed away into the forest. Elphie signaled to Nessa, and the younger girl swiftly descended in a blur of dark blue. The two joined hands once more, and silently ran back to their home.

Nessarose was used to her sister behaving like this, as Elphaba was a witch. She was curious about her sister's power, but even at the age of fourteen knew not to ask any questions now. Perhaps when she was twenty, like her sister, she would know more about witchcraft in general. _I should have worn red,_ she thought. _Everyone knows that red repels wolves, but blue and white attract them. How foolish of me to forget that it is Wolfstime...but then again, We didn't expect to be out so late. Glinda did invite us in the early afternoon, after all..._

Elphaba silently worried about how close it had been. _If I wasn't here, then Nessa could have died...I must ask mother to keep her inside more often during Wolfstime. She's too young and naive to protect herself. At least I have witchcraft to protect me, if nothing else. Oh, how I wish Fiyero were here...that really shook me up._

The large black castle the Western Royal Family (The Thropps) called home came into view, with the large, gleaming black spires and the rosebushes full of pink, red, black and white roses surrounding it. It was a sturdy castle; if under siege, it would not go down easily. As they drew closer, the girls slowed down. Something felt..._wrong._ The atmosphere was foreboding. And..._what was that red liquid dripping off one of the rosebushes?_

As the enormous front door of the castle came into view, Elphaba and Nessrose slowed to a cautious walk. They looked around, trying to find the source of the foreboding, when Nessarose accidentally stepped into a puddle of the thick, red liquid. The girls looked down in front of them, to be greeted with the sight of their cousins.

Nessarose screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or anything mentioned from that show.

Note: Anything from Seasons 1 or 2 is fair game. If you don't like spoilers, don't read.

Chapter One: In Which a Spellbook is Found

Stephanie absently played with her dark hair, her legs crossed as she read the _Library Journal_, catching up on the book trends for this month. She often correlated her stock with what was popular right now, if she could. Operating _Roses are Read,_ Storybrooke's only bookshop,wasn't always the easiest job, after all. Often, she took some of the books off the shelves and read them herself, lacking a steady flow of customers. It was quite boring in this town, if she was being honest with herself.

But today felt..._different, _somehow, as if she were about to wake from a nightmare. Though Stephanie could never quite explain how or why she had feelings like this, her little hunches had never led her astray before. At least, she didn't think they had. Frowning, she attempted to examine her memories, but really didn't remember...

And then the bell over the door tinkled merrily and the bookseller shook herself out of her trance. She smiled widely at the sight of her best friend, closing the magazine and rising from behind her desk.

"Rhiannon!" she cried, excited to see her, as she hugged her friend close.

Giggling, her blonde friend returned the hug, replying, "Stephie! We haven't seen each other in _forever_!"

"I know," Stephanie smiled softly. "I've been busy with the bookshop..."

"And there have been plenty of customers at the hair salon to take care of."

She frowned. "Shouldn't you be over there right now?"

Rhiannon smirked mischievously. "The other girls can handle it. I'd rather visit with you."

Smiling widely, Stephanie returned to her desk, gesturing for the blonde to sit on the chair in front of it. Rhiannon bypassed it entirely and chose to sit on the table instead. The two women chatted for a good half hour before the bell tinkled again. Stephanie smiled at the sight of one of her few regulars and wondered what kind of book the mayor's son would want today.

"Hi Ms. Nightflower!" he smiled warmly as he came in. Letting out a noise somewhere between a swear and a shriek as her eyes roved over the clock, Rhiannon nearly ran out of the store, inevitably returning to the hair salon.

"So, what can I get for you this lovely morning, Henry?" she asked, her hands clasped in front of her.

He tilted his head slightly before he replied. "Do you have any books about magic?"

Something reverberated inside of her at the word, and it struck her as significant for some reason.

Shaking her head, she answered, "Unfortunately, my entire stock of fairy tales was stolen a few weeks ago, and I haven't ordered a new shipment yet."

It had been odd, because it wasn't just fairy tales that were missing, but any book about magic, really. She had investigated on her own while Graham had done an official investigation, but neither of them had found anything. Eventuallyshe had dropped it. It wasn't that big of a deal anyway. Henry looked disappointed for a moment, before returning to his normally cheerful self.

"Well, do you have anything about spies, then?"

"That I do have. Just a second," Stephanie smiled, holding up one finger before heading into the basement, or the Archive as she liked to call it. The stacks of books seemed to go on forever, but the spy and detective books were close to the front, so it wasn't too hard to find. As she turned to leave, she thought she heard footsteps.

"Hello? Henry?" she called out, before determining that it was nothing. Turning back to the shelf, she saw a thick book with black binding. There wasn't a title on the spine. Putting her load on another shelf for a moment, she struggled with it for a few minutes before managing to yank it out. The cover had intricate patterns of black, thorny vines that seemed to shift and change against the grey background. _Grimmerie_, the golden letters spelled out. Grabbing the books for Henry as well as the large one that she had found, Stephanie quickly returned up the stairs, shivering slightly.

In the stacks, a brown-haired, brown-eyed man grinned widely. Soon, he would have his princess back.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or Wicked.

A/N: Yes, yes, I know I haven't updated in over a year. If I do update from here, it'll probably be erratic at best, so I apologize ahead of time. Thank you to those who reviewed, favorited, and followed.

EDIT: Chapter 2 has been rewritten. Definitely better.

**CHAPTER 3**

Moonlight flooded the small rose garden as a cloaked figure waited one one of the benches. It almost seemed as if the shadows themselves wrapped around the inconspicuous character, making them seem almost like a dark deity. The head snapped up as the rosebushes rustled, the hood slipping a little to reveal an elegant, pale green chin. A tall man pushed through, smiling as Elphaba lowered her hood. Wearing a green cloak and traveling clothes, Fiyero Tiggular sat down next to his beloved and held her close.

"I thought you weren't coming home until next week," she said breathlessly, shivering slightly because of the cold night air.

"They were able to spare a few men, so I volunteered to come back and see you," he smiled, leaning in for a kiss.

Elphaba happily reciprocated before coming up for air. "If she finds you here_..." _she trailed off, her silver eyes filled with worry.

"She won't," he smiled again, his brown eyes watching her tenderly. "Forget about her. Have I ever told you how beautiful you look in the starlight?"

Conversation became irrelevant for a time after that.

But while the young lovers became reacquainted with each other, foul things brewed in the dungeons beneath them. Elphaba's mother, Melena, was a sweet, caring queen of the Western Territories. But by night, away from prying eyes, she was sly and cunning, able to subtly manipulate events in the kingdom to the royals' advantage. And now, as she gazed into her crystal ball, watching her daughter and Fiyero...consort, her pretty face was twisted into a scowl. If Elphaba, princess of the land, married Fiyero, a minor noble, it would upset the delicate balance of power in the kingdom, for she knew that Cerulia, Fiyero's absolute _bitch _of an aunt, would most likely attempt to blatantly overthrow her, which was completely unacceptable.

She circled the crystal ball on its stand, attempting to formulate a plan to keep them apart. Her first scheme-encouraging a draft for the Noland Wars, then hinting to Fiyero to volunteer as a right of passage, of sorts-had failed. She made a sidenote to have the general who had let him go have an unfortunate accident befall him. Suddenly, Melena smiled. She did love how plans struck one expectedly, and now, she knew exactly how to break them. Turning, her dress swirling around her, she strode off, her wide smile promising an ill fate for Elphaba and Fiyero's relationship.

As her mother schemed, Nessarose, the widely-sought younger daughter of King Frexspar and Queen Melena, lay awake in her bed, unable to sleep. Absentmindedly playing with a lock of her dark hair, a trait that she, her sister, and her mother shared. Frexspar's lighter, chestnut hair had not shown itself in either of his daughters, but his silvery eyes had been passed down to Elphaba, while Nessarose's emerald green eyes mirrored her mothers'. Sighing as she realized she probably wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon, Nessa rose from her bed, searching for a book to read. Though she wasn't a complete bookworm like her older sister, she still had a healthy respect for the written word.

Now seventeen, Nessa was beginning to come into full bloom, her natural grace and poise apparent to all who saw her. Many a suitor had come asking for her, but she had loved none of them. The one she did love...well, she frowned slightly, he only had eyes for Glinda, princess of Gillikin. She unconsciously mimicked her mother's scowl, only a few floors away. She liked Glinda a lot, but she loved Boq much more, and Nessa silently made a vow to herself that she would do absolutely anything necessary to win his heart.

And watching all of them from the Emerald Palace, a redheaded woman with a wicked smile watched them all as her dark plan began to unfold, slowly twisting a web of magic that would destroy them all. An evil cackle rose from the city as a thunderstorm unleashed its fury over the Emerald City, and soon over all of Oz.

The stage was set.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or Wicked.

A/N: Not the greatest ending, but it'll do. Please review so I can make this story better, though it isn't necessarily constant.

**Chapter 4**

It had been a few weeks since Stephanie had found the Grimmerie, and she still hadn't quite figured out what it was. When she had returned with Henry's books in one hand and the Grimmerie in the other, his smile had grown even larger, if that was possible. He had chirped a quick than you, paying for the books, then ran out of the shop, leaving a bemused Stephanie in his wake. Turning back to it, she had opened it only to fin that it was in a different language, or at least not one that she could understand. She had headed to the trusty internet to attempt to ind out which language it was, but she still hadn't found an answer.

Wrapping a dark green scarf around her neck, she pulled down her white beanie over her head and locked up the store, tucking the keys into her jacket pocket. Storybrooke was fully engulfed in spring's soft embrace, and yet a light snow was beginning to fall as she began the fairly short walk to her apartment. Smiling at Emma Swan, the town's new sheriff, and Mary Margaret Blanchard she passed by them, she didn't see the motionless man until it was too late.

"I'm sorry," Stephanie quickly apologized as she took a few steps back.

"No, it's alright," the man said, smiling at her.

"Have we met before?" she asked abruptly, her eyes narrowed as she frowned. He seemed familiar somehow, though she could swear that she had never seen him before.

"No," he smiled, perhaps with a hint of sadness, "you haven't."

Shaking herself slightly (she seemed to be doing that an awful lot lately), she stuck out her hand. "I'm sorry, where are my manners? I'm Stephanie, I run the bookshop right over there," the dark-haired girl introduced herself, pointing at the now dark windows of _Roses are Read_. "And you are...?"

"Fiy-itz." He said, taking it and shaking her hand. "Yeah, Fitz. Fitzgerald Thompson."

She looked at him a bit strangely-after all, who got confused about their name?-but dismissed it after few seconds. After a slight pause, Stephanie hesitantly said, "Well, I should get home...I'll see you around?"

He smiled brilliantly. "Yes, I daresay you will. Goodnight, Miss Nightflower." Turning around, Fitz began walking in the other direction as she continued towards the original destination of her apartment. After a few minutes, she got to apartment 7E and unlocked the door, unwinding her scarf and draping it over a chair as she prepared for bed.

It was only later, as she was falling asleep, that she realized that Fitz had referred to her by her last name, when she had only introduced herself by her first.

* * *

><p><em>She was a Thropp, and Thropps bowed to no one.<em>

_The cackling sorceress attempting to destroy them, however, had completely decimated the royal family of the West, leaving only her father, Nessarose, and Fiyero alive. Even so, that seemed to be about to change. She was seriously considering bowing to this woman, if only to protect the few people she loved that she had left when Fiyero, Nessa, and Glinda were all flung back with one burst of crimson lightning, Nessa skidding to a stop in front of her pregnant sister. Fiyero, returning from where he had been flung off to the side, stood in front of his wife, his sword alight with flame. __Glinda, having been bashed against a wall, slumped to the floor._

_She did not rise._

_With Gaylette busy keeping out the Wizard, who was the last thing that they needed at the moment, it truly was only them for themselves._

_"Soon," the witch smiled, "I will _rule _this world, with all the magical power of a goddess. I shall grant you the honor of being the first royals to grant me my power."_

_She raised her hand, scarlet sparks linking her fingers together, a torrent of hail shattering the stained glass portraits of the many others who had come before._

_The princess screamed her defiance, the very earth quaking as her magic echoed it._

_Fire outlined her sister's hands and her husband's sword as the sounds of battle, both magical and mundane, fill the courtyard._

_And then, a miracle-Glinda wakes._

_"This world is taken," she smiles, teeth stained with blood, and then everything shatters, and Elphaba-Fae-Elphie-Fabala-Stephanie falls, and falls, and falls..._

* * *

><p>And wakes, to a day anew, frowning at her dream before the touch of magic wipes it away, and she is Stephanie, the kind young bookseller once more, as she has been for 28 years, while Princess Elphaba sleeps at the bottom of a deep well, masked by magic and gagged by darkness.<p> 


End file.
